Choice is important to our Scout Programs.Â In order to ensure choice for our Scouts, our Scout Programs use the following three distinct tools:Â Â

Brainstorming

Consensus

Active Scout Team LeadershipÂ

Brainstorming is the process by which our Scouts choose their own activities.Â Ideas are introduced and are weighed based on feasibility, expense, and whether the Scouts want to participate in that activity or not.Â Sometimes additional information is needed.Â For example, Scouts may need to price out how much an activity would cost before making a final decision.Â Â Â

Consensus is reached when all our Scouts agree to take part in an activity.Â No one sits on the sidelines.Â If a Scout did not vote for baseball and dislikes baseball, but the rest of the Scouts voted for baseball, it is their responsibility to find a way for the individual Scout to participate in some way comfortably.Â Active Team LeadershipÂ There are four key elements to Active Scout Team Leadership:Â

Accountability

Empowerment

Authority

The parameters of their responsibilityÂ

Accountability is a person holding themselves responsible for what they promised to do.Â

Empowerment is giving a person the power they need to be responsible for what they said they would do.Â

Authority is what is necessary for a person to make the decisions needed to be responsible for what they said they would do.Â

The parameters of responsibility let the person know exactly what their responsibility is.Â

Active Scout Team Leadership in Action

After consensus has been reached, the Team Leader contacts the Assistant Team Leader, who delegates to the Activity Chair who delegates to the Scouts who take responsibility for each part of the activity.Â Delegating a task does not mean the Scout who delegates does nothing.Â They are responsible for checking with the person they are supervising.Â The only person who does not delegate is the person at the bottom of the chart, the person who is responsible for actually buying paper cups, or food, or whatever they are responsible for.Â Everyone has responsibility so everyone is invested in the process.Â Teams truly belong to our Scouts, and our Scouts feel they truly belong.